MOT Failure

[PaulBishop]

My Cali is nearly 5 years old and failed it's MOT this week. The reason being 'Nearside & Offside wishbone rubber bush located on front suspension deteriorated resulting in excessive movement'.

My garage explained i's due to the fact that the vehicle weighs 2.5 tonnes & the road surfaces nowadays due to lack of repairs are causing more suspension work and hence the bushes wearing out faster. Seems plausable. It cost me £150 to repair.

I thought I'd post this as some of you will have similar age vans & it might be something to look out for.

 

[Yelekreb]

Which garage was that Paul?

 

[WelshGas]

Too true about the roads. Might I ask how many miles you have done?

 

[Martynl123]

Mine had similar, it got through the last test but needs sorting before the next, mine is around 5 years old with 55k on the clock.

 

[WelshGas]

That's reasonable. It's a heavy vehicle and the roads are atrocious nowadays so it's not surprising after that sort of mileage.

 

[BerndRos]

You err ought to be out here in Portugal for a while.....did a 130 mile trip on my Vespa today and my teeth were rattling...!

 

[Rob H]

My Cali is nearly 5 years old and failed it's MOT this week. The reason being 'Nearside & Offside wishbone rubber bush located on front suspension deteriorated resulting in excessive movement'.

My garage explained i's due to the fact that the vehicle weighs 2.5 tonnes & the road surfaces nowadays due to lack of repairs are causing more suspension work and hence the bushes wearing out faster. Seems plausable. It cost me £150 to repair.

I thought I'd post this as some of you will have similar age vans & it might be something to look out for.

5 years moderate mileage. Anyone know if there's a tougher aftermarket replacement to counter the curse of the pothole and speed bump ? Over my driving career in a variety of vehicles I've seen suspension bushes which used to be solid rubber type material lasting the life of the vehicle, replaced by softer 'void bushes' that do seem to suffer degradation / perish earlier, so tougher after market polyurethane bushes in a variety of elastomeric grades have appeared. Anyone know of a supplier ? I would rather, when then time comes replace once and replace with better.

Rob H.

 

[PaulBishop]

5 years moderate mileage. Anyone know if there's a tougher aftermarket replacement to counter the curse of the pothole and speed bump ? Over my driving career in a variety of vehicles I've seen suspension bushes which used to be solid rubber type material lasting the life of the vehicle, replaced by softer 'void bushes' that do seem to suffer degradation / perish earlier, so tougher after market polyurethane bushes in a variety of elastomeric grades have appeared. Anyone know of a supplier ? I would rather, when then time comes replace once and replace with better.

Rob H.

Which garage was that Paul?

Which garage was that Paul?

NG Motors in Splott. They are a VW Audi specialist. Great service & price. I've used them for about 10 years now with my other VW.

 

[PaulBishop]

Too true about the roads. Might I ask how many miles you have done?

35,000

 

[sandalfarm]

Do you mean like polybush or powerflex I had some on my land rover but they were not cheap

 

[WelshGas]

Powerflex do them for the T5.
http://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-series/products/T5+Transporter+(2003+-)-2874/1.html

 

[PaulBishop]

Do you mean like polybush or powerflex I had some on my land rover but they were not cheap

Sorry I don't know, I've just posted the details from the MOT failure certificate.

 

[Rob H]

Powerflex do them for the T5.
http://www.powerflex.co.uk/road-series/products/T5+Transporter+(2003+-)-2874/1.html

'Powerflex', Thanks WelshGas, Its the Main dealer labour charges for replacing a relatively small standard VW bush, possibly on a too regular basis over the life of the van that grates on me, (MOT examiners will be well aware of any weakness in this component on the T5), so a more robust hopefully 'one off' repair appeals. Will check my bushes and shocks as best one can, as MOT approaches.

Rgrds,

Rob H.

 

[PeteS]

I had a rear spring go on my Caravelle and the garage fitting it said they are changing more and more springs either due to the poor roads or cheaper materials.

 

[westfalia]

My MOT fail started with an emissions light that I had to
fix before I took it for an MOT.

EGR valve needed.


650€ including oil and filter change and brake fluid change.

Then I went to the MOT place and it failed.
New wishbone rubbers and some other ball joint rubber on the drivers
side (LHD) required.

Front fog lamp on right side not set high enough.

Exhaust back box starting to peel so they said I had to cut off
the outer skin. Which I did, with a grinder. Here's the piece.



Here's what I'm left with.
Hopefully another 15yrs to go with the last skin on the exhaust.





Wishbone and ball joint. 350€






So it failed and cost me 1000€ but I had an oil
change and a new EGR, I'm good for 2yrs now.

Do you think it was expensive? I thought it was an okay price.



@Elmo3 - not too serious

 

[WelshGas]

My MOT fail started with an emissions light that I had to
fix before I took it for an MOT.

EGR valve needed.

View attachment 82023
650€ including oil and filter change and brake fluid change.

Then I went to the MOT place and it failed.
New wishbone rubbers and some other ball joint rubber on the drivers
side (LHD) required.

Front fog lamp on right side not set high enough.

Exhaust back box starting to peel so they said I had to cut off
the outer skin. Which I did, with a grinder. Here's the piece.

View attachment 82024

Here's what I'm left with.
Hopefully another 15yrs to go with the last skin on the exhaust.



View attachment 82025

Wishbone and ball joint. 350€




View attachment 82026

So it failed and cost me 1000€ but I had an oil
change and a new EGR, I'm good for 2yrs now.

Do you think it was expensive? I thought it was an okay price.



@Elmo3 - not too serious

Considering the milage and age, I think that is quite reasonable, and the roof is still working.

 

[Elmo3]

Yeah, not too bad. The key with these older vans is to find a decent, trustworthy mechanic and avoid dealers at all costs! Mine recently flew through the MOT but had a new steering rack a couple of months ago. Fortunately the warranty covered it, bill for a brand new rack from Germany (LHD Cali) and for my mechanic to fit was about £650. Pretty good really even if I had to cover it myself. God only knows what VW would have charged!

 

[soulstyledevon]

I had replacement Powerflex bushes fitted to my van after the originals had worn out. 2017 van with only 35k miles.
The Powerflex have a lifetime guarantee…

 

[B J G]

I had replacement Powerflex bushes fitted to my van after the originals had worn out. 2017 van with only 35k miles.
The Powerflex have a lifetime guarantee…

Couple of questions when time permits

Did you do it on a DIY basis?

Did you fit the Camber & Caster adjusting versions?

 

[soulstyledevon]

Couple of questions when time permits

Did you do it on a DIY basis?

Did you fit the Camber & Caster adjusting versions?

Never touch mechanical stuff bores me silly, truth be told.
Can’t remember the exact version. My local garage recommended them as an upgrade.
Cost wise, between them and OEM, was about £20

 

[Ozzy Pete]

And people go on about “I only fit Genuine VW parts” If Genuine VW parts were that good why don’t they have a lifetime guarantee?

 

[WelshGas]

And people go on about “I only fit Genuine VW parts” If Genuine VW parts were that good why don’t they have a lifetime guarantee?

They could, but are you prepared to pay the additional cost on a new vehicle?
The bushes mentioned above an additional £2-400 and if one failed would the owner remember and what would be the claims procedure if the company was still around?

 

[Ozzy Pete]

They could, but are you prepared to pay the additional cost on a new vehicle?
The bushes mentioned above an additional £2-400 and if one failed would the owner remember and what would be the claims procedure if the company was still around?

If you look at Genuine VW parts prices against top Quality aftermarket prices I can Guarantee that the VW prices are Always way higher. With the buying power of VW they can buy the absolute best quality at very little extra cost, but they choose to take the lowest tender.. That’s how it is for most vehicle manufacturers.

 

[WelshGas]

If you look at Genuine VW parts prices against top Quality aftermarket prices I can Guarantee that the VW prices are Always way higher. With the buying power of VW they can buy the absolute best quality at very little extra cost, but they choose to take the lowest tender.. That’s how it is for most vehicle manufacturers.

So its not just VW?

But what do you define as quality?

 

[Ozzy Pete]

So its not just VW?

But what do you define as quality?

Of coarse it’s not just VW. Car manufacturers Put tenders out for 95%+ of their parts. The tenders come back and if the parts look ok and the price is low that’s who they buy from. After all it’s a car/ van not a aero engine. They know a certain % will fail but that’s built into the price of the vehicle.